Titilola Edu: Social Media Commentary & Its Damaging Consequence

Some years ago, when I was in Law School, I posted something vile on my Facebook page. I believe it was during President Jonathan’s administration. I’m not sure what exactly he did at the time, but I was enraged – like so many other people around me and in diaspora.

I was so angry at whatever had happened at the time that I wrote something very nasty about the President. It was actually insulting.

The next day, I received a call from my Dad asking me what I posted on Facebook. I was confused; my Dad was not on Facebook, and secondly, because I write a lot on Facebook so I was wondering which particular one he meant.

“I don’t understand, Sir” I said.

In an angry tone he told me to remove whatever it was I wrote on Facebook immediately. I had completely forgotten about what I had written the previous day. So I went back to my wall wondering how my father knew what I wrote on Facebook. It must be a family member that can not mind their business, I concluded.

The only damaging post on my wall was the one about Jonathan. So I took it down. I was miffed that my freedom of speech was being infringed on by my Dad and whomever reported me to him. Nonsense.

Years later, I began to understand the essence of keeping your thoughts and everything you put on social media in check.

What is Social Media?
Wikipedia defines social media as “media use web-based technologies, desktop computers and mobile technologies (e.g., smartphones and tablet computers) to create highly interactive platforms through which individuals, communities and organizations can share, co-create, discuss, and modify user-generated content or pre-made content posted online. They introduce substantial and pervasive changes to communication between businesses, organizations, communities and individuals”

Now we understand that social media basically is a technological innovation that gives you a platform to communicate, interact and engage people most times “real time”.

Now let us look at what social media reach means :

It is defined as the total number of people you are able to reach across all of your various social media networks.

It is no wonder that many businesses are now dominating cyberspace and utilizing the many advantages of social media as an effective marketing tool.

The ‘koko’ is you are able to reach more people with your content on social media as a business or as an individual.

So as an individual, I’m present on all social networks, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter. So anything I post will not just be seen by my immediate followers, but their followers as well – especially if they share it to their space. My content is spreading. Your content could be good or bad, but it will definitely leave an impression about you.

What kind of impression do you want people having about you? Sometimes, we don’t care what people think; but what if whatever you leave out there could harm your career, relationship, family or business. Would you think think twice before posting anything and everything that comes to your mind?

Trust me, you don’t want your careless post reaching the wrong hands.

I read with dismay a comment on Funmi Iyanda’s post about marriage not being for her, and the guy that insulted Michelle Obama not having male children. News has it that he was suspended at work for his thoughtless comment.

When are we going to learn constructive criticism and stop being cyber bullies? What are you going to benefit from putting people down all the time? Even the Bible says “I will bless those who bless you and curse them that curse you”.

The rate at which we are so quick to insult people on social media is alarming! There are so many young impressionable people out there, what message are we passing to them?

Let your words/comments be geared toward building and destroying because they might eventually come back to haunt you.

It might have far- reaching consequence than you envisage, if not now, then later.

Be careful what you post on Social Media.

About Titilola Edu

Titilola is a Legal Practitioner, Entrepreneur, Introverted Extrovert, Storyteller and a Rice&Stew Enthusiast. She blogs at https://gidigirlkronicles.wordpress.com. Follow @ttlawla on IG and twitter.

I think people need to understand the harm that can be done when they choose to be cyber bullies…If you don’t like an image or whatever! Scroll away or send a message to this individual and advice him or her! it’s that simple! Do not bring others down and think you are being a bad ass whatever! Life is too short to be full of so much hatred for someone you know nothing about. Believe me when you spit that venom of yours, you become the one with a problem. The one who needs a reason to vent! Breathe and live your life!

This is true. I am a mass communication student from caleb university and my view on this as i have been taught in digital story telling is that before you post anything you should think and read through and try to consider the effects or impacts it will have on people even when you want to post a photo, you should think before doing so.

I’m glad your Dad had your back as far back as then. Thank God the only thing I post on FB are photos (fully clad BTW). About a year to graduating from law school, we were warned that as part of proving good moral character, any jurisdiction’s Bar to which we applied, was at liberty to pull up our social media accounts and to disqualify us if they so pleased based on our posts – words or photos. I was like hunh?! Come and see panicking in some of my classmates.

The one that has become reality TV these days is now the FB live video that our Naija’s in the UK are using to entertain us oh! Before, it was posting words which you could even maybe lie and say your account was hacked into, now it is live video – what more proof/evidence do you need abi, when you see the person live and direct jumping and swearing upandan in front of you?! Come and see something! Instead of the fight to decrease, na to just dey get worse everyday. Honestly, I don’t even know what to say again other than, Chai! People are dangerous oh! Nor be only dirty linen! Asiri of the asiri’s. It’s even been speculated that as a result of the live videos, some are facing deportation as we speak. Some will even face insurance fraud at this rate. Abi how do you explain one coming on FB LIVE oh, to tell us that she took taxi into town on Thursday night or so, only to arrive home at 10:45 PM and her car had disappeared, and all her “designer” clothes had waka’d from her closets. Sokay! I was helping her sympathize, but was alarmed ikpe how come nobody saw anything?! Only for one “friend” to come out two days later LIVE oh to say, “fa-fa-fa-fawuulu!” Come reveal say na lie oh, that this person wey dey allege burglary had been given letter to leave the UK and that she had in actuality cargoed all her belongings to Naija and only claimed theft so she could collect insurance money!!!! Chai!!!! The grand opened and almost swallowed me! Talk about people living vicariously!

I beckon oh! Exercise serious inhibition with social media oh! In as much as you want to say/live it, just zip it! And Facebook, hmmm, you don create serious wahala with this FB Live! In fact, they just made police investigations so much easier.

Nice piece and well written. I think cyber-bully is to be expected because everybody wants to have an opinion about everything and everyone not minding how hurtful their written words might be. However, my advise is that we should try not to let whatever anyone’s opinion or insults get to us. Let’s rise above the hate. Even Jesus was criticized and spat on.